Vincent Nguye 3rd Degree Black Belt

I have been practicing Kung Fu for over a decade already. Kungfu started as fun hobby that I could do with friends, but as we all got busy and drifted into our own paths, I chose to continue down the path of Kungfu. Now Kungfu is a lifestyle and a career choice that would be a waste to keep to myself. I am not the result of circumstances, but the choices made from my experiences. Learning Kungfu has changed me, but teaching has done more so. I was much more impulsive in the past but now think things through a little more. As our culture continues to change, I must adapt.

Hello. I'm Vincent, everyone knows me as an instructor here at SKZ. I will speak about making some easy choices and some not so easy ones.  Show of hands. If you could press a button to cure any illness, would you press it? If you could press a button to lose weight, would you press it? If you could press a button to become physically fit, would you press it? Would you press the button if your car could automatically drive you to where you want? How about having your food delivered to your house, would you press that button? Or have you already pressed it? *People are prone to taking the path of least resistance. If given the choice, we'd almost always choose the easiest path. We're all programmed for efficiency and convenience. It's ingrained into our evolution. Many choices that mankind has made as a collective has benefited to our survival as a whole. Our choice to start a government. To start a police force. The choice for healthcare. All of these choices have increased mankind's longevity as a whole.  What if I said our choices are now backing us into a corner? Convenience is like a double-edged sword. It is the sin we know as sloth. Let's go over some conveniences that we have and take for granted now. "GPS's." A lot of us can no longer live without them. We used to read maps, explore, and find new locations. Now the average person has no sense of direction. "Taking Notes." These days people can take notes simply by turning on an app and having everything recorded for them. There's been a recent study that people who write notes will retain more information than other methods. "Writing Essays." This is likely the worst offender. There are cases of students having ChatGPT doing entire assignments for them. I believe we should embrace conveniences while holding on to other inconveniences. While we still have the choices, we should make them. Kungfu was one of those choices for me. Is it hard? Yes. Is it strenuous? Yes. For many, people, it can be inconvenient. But to me the pros definitely outweighed the cons. It made me faster, it made me stronger, it enhanced my reflexes, but most importantly it tests and continues to test my patience. I started Kungfu as a little hobby with my friends. As time passed, my friends would move on with their lives moving here and there. That’s when my ultimate choice came up. Should I continue Kungfu or move on just as my friends did. Whether the choice I made was the right choice is something only time will tell, but it’s a choice I don’t regret and most importantly it’s a choice I could still make.  Thank you for listening to what I had to say. Thank you to the audience for supporting us, my fellow testers, Shifu Andy for teaching us, and to the judges for officiating our test! I hope you enjoy the test!